Flowers and Mr Detective: Aeternitas
by GoshGollyGee
Summary: Leon has an encounter with one of Count D's many curiosities, and comes back a changed man... PG- 13 for language and skimpy clothing. This is my first PSoH fic, so please, NO FLAMES!
1. Prologue: The Attack

WARNING: THIS IS MY FIRST PET SHOP OF HORRORS FIC. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, SORRY FOR WASTING YOUR TIME.

In other words, go easy on me.

This idea popped in my head a while back (at 2:14 in the morning) and kept nagging me, so I wrote it down. If it makes no sense:

Ye Hath Been Warned.

I hate the ending of the Pet Shop of Horrors series, but since there is nothing I can do, I will just like to inform you that this happened before the horrific events of book 10.

Also, I'm putting down my disclaimer here since I got a Five daytemporary ban for putting it as it's own chapter. This will be the last time I'll put it up, butthe disclaimerstandsin the rest of my story, For those of you crazy lawyer people who look for excuses to sue poor, innocent fanfiction writers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pet Shop of Horrors.

(It would be pretty cool though… then I'd change the ending of the last Manga…)

-

Other than that, Enjoy.

* * *

Flowers And Mr. Detective: Aeternitas 

Prologue: The Attack

* * *

Detective Leon Orcot was (once again) sitting on an expensive imported couch in Count D's Pet Shop, while Count D himself was helping Chris Orcot, Leon's younger brother, feed some of the many strange, exotic animals that resided there. 

Although he had seen this ritual many times before, Leon was still uneasy, for D's creatures were well known to bite (especially the evil goat-thing that seems to be bent on bringing about his demise). He'd never forgive himself if Chris got hurt. Then again, at least he'd have a reason to arrest D. Possession of Dangerous (And Most Likely Illegal) Animals.

'What am I kidding', Leon mused to himself, 'D would probably just smile and offer everyone tea that he spiked himself (special secret blend), and brainwash everyone'. Leon still hadn't forgotten, or exactly figured out, the time when D gave him Sake and the craziness that followed with that dress thing and the flowers on it. That had to be spiked.

Leon was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear the Count's first offering of tea and chocolates.

He jerked out of his thoughts and replied with a gruff "sure" when he saw a sight that made his blood run cold.

Chris was being attacked by the devil goat.

-

Total concentration.

He noticed the boy slow down, figuring that the whelp knew that he couldn't out run him. He knew the boy's weaknesses well (he could almost predict what the boy was going to do next, which was to look for a place to hide). The boy did. Excellent. Now to get him in his weak spot.

Total Concentration.

That was the state of mind Tetsu- Chan was in as he went in for the kill.

-

Chris ran.

He knew he couldn't run for long, but he couldn't stop. Tet- Chan was too fast. He could try to hide, but he knew Tet- Chan would find him. He always did.

But it was the only option he had left. So he pause for a second, looking around frantically.

A second, it seemed, was all Tet- Chan needed as he pounced on the little boy.

Chris was thrown back with the weight of Tet- Chan knocking him over.

Caught.

Chris shrieked to himself and began to flail and kick as Tet- Chan, with an evil grin, began to tickle him.

-

Leon leapt to his feet as quick as he could, but by then, the satanic goat had Chris pinned to the floor and was doing something to him that was making him kick and flail.

Leon had seen enough.

"Leon, NO!" Count D yelled, but he ignored it, placing a well- aimed kick to the side of Tetsu, which knocked him to the other side of the room, and bending over Chris to see if he was alright. Chris had a look of shock on his face, which wore out only to be replaced by tears.

-

"Chris, don't go near that thing, it's dangerous!" Leon said when Chris slipped past his grasp. But Chris ignored him and ran to Tetsu, checking to see if he was alright. 'Tet- Chan, are you Ok?' he thought. Tetsu looked dazed, but snapped up when Chris acknowledged him. Chris stepped back immediately. There was something in Tetsu's eyes that he had never seen before.

Fire. A murderous fire.

Just as that thought formulated, Tetsu leaped over Chris and charged Leon, catching him by surprise. This time, it was Tetsu Count D was addressing when he said "No! Stop!"

Tetsu jumped on Leon, knocking him over, in which Leon countered by throwing him off. Tetsu landed perfectly, and attacked Leon just as he was getting up. Leon was knocked down once again from the weight of Tetsu, whom bit Leon on the shoulder with his razor sharp teeth. Leon yelled in pain, but recovered quickly, rolling onto his back to squish his attacker.

Tetsu yelped in surprise and let go. That was all the time Leon needed. He grabbed his pistol, which was on the coach he was sitting on with his coat and his car keys, and shot at Tetsu. Tetsu, quick on the uptake, dodged the bullet and began some evasive maneuvering, in which he dashed past Leon and through a door, disappearing from view. Leon was in hot pursuit. "Leon, wait!" Count D cried, but Leon was too far ahead to hear him.

'Count D' Chris thought. 'What are were going to do?'

Count D looked at the small child. "Wait", he replied with a calm smile.

* * *

So, how did you like so far? Sorry it was so short. (Then again, it is a prologue…) 

The next one (which I am currently writing), is probably going to be just as short. The one after is going to be longer though (I promise).

Ok, my little rule is that I'll update after five reviews, but since I get impatient reeeeeeeally easily, I'll probably update sooner. Please review! puppy eyes

Guess what? The next chapter you get to meet Aeternitas! (Yes, Aeternitas is a person.)

What she is, however, is for you to find out and decide ...mysterious smile

I also have two Inu Yasha stories (which I am also working on, but I fear no one cares anymore because it's been three years since I last updated them, everyone's probably forgotten about them…sob…)

Then again, shame on me for not updating in such a long time…grins sheepishly

If you're into Inu Yasha, check them out and review!

That's about all. See you next time!

-Aliehs-


	2. Chapter One: Lost

Hello again!

I guess I'm reeeeeeally impatient… I'm updating after one review.

Oh well. Have to please my reviewer.

With that said, I would like to thank the one person who bothered to review!

**Professor M. McGonagall**- Thanks a lot! I dedicate this chapter to you!

I will also like to thank my dear friend **I am Inu- Chan** for being my Beta for this story.

Cheers, mate.

Anyway, enough talk, here's the next chapter!

* * *

Flowers and Mr. Detective: Aeternitas 

Chapter One: Lost

* * *

Leon ran after Tetsu, so concentrated on killing the bastard that, when he finally decided to catch his breath, realized that he was lost. Tetsu was nowhere in sight. 

'Why does it have to be so damn dark in here?' Leon fumed to himself, leaning against the wall and putting his hand on his knees. Instantly, he stood back up, for a sharp pain had shot up his arm. 'Doh, forgot about that', he thought, putting his hand up to his wound. He winced. It had bled through his shirt and was still bleeding, but all that remained of the piercing pain was a dull ache.

'I bet that thing has rabies, just watch' Leon thought bitterly as he sat down, tore off a piece of his shirt, and tied up the bite. The last thing he needed was to bleed to death before he got out of here. After a while of resting, he stood up. 'Well, I'm not going to get out of here any faster just sitting here'. He mused. So with a huff, Leon began to walk the way he came from.

-

What seemed like hours passed by, and Leon still hadn't found his way out.

And the bite, which had long since bled through the make- shift bandage, still hadn't stopped. He was getting weaker and weaker by the minute.

Leon looked around and cursed. "I was just here!" he cried. He knew because he had marked the door (one of the many) in front of him with another piece of his shirt he tore. The said door also had the letter E surrounded by elegant designs on it, which was the only one he's seen of its type, so it couldn't have been moved.

He didn't dare open these doors, for (knowing Count D), it probably contained another creature that wished to kill him. Suddenly dizzy, he sank down to the floor, opposite of the door in question. Worn out from walking and loss of blood, he closed his eyes for a moment and fell into a fitful sleep.

He never noticed the pair of cold, black eyes, watching his every breath.

-

'Count D', Chris asked, 'Shouldn't we go looking for Leon?'

It was 9:00 at night, and Leon still hadn't shown up. Tetsu, on the other hand, showed up an hour later.

"Don't worry", Count D replied, waving the question away. "He show up eventually. It's only been seven hours. He should be fine. I hope…"

Chris' eyes began to water.

"I was joking!" Count D added quickly when he noted this.

'Won't the police go looking for him?'

"That has already been taken care of."

'How?'

"I called up his lovely assistant and told her Leon got drunk and was staying over. She said she'll send someone to do his shift." Count D chirped cheerfully. "Nighty- night!"

'Good night Count D' Chris replied sleepily. 'I really hope he is alright. That bite on his shoulder looked really bad.'

Count D whipped around when he heard this. "Bite?", he said sharply.

But Chris had already nodded off to sleep, although not before seeing the look of extreme worry in Count D's eyes.

-

A pair of eye sockets watched the strange creature that was across her door as he slept, with such excitement one would think she was a child on Christmas Day.

"What is this specimen?" The girl whispered. She had never seen anything like it, yet she had a vague feeling that she had, a long time ago. She saw the wound on the creature's arm, and immediately identified it as a bite from a Totetsu. "Poor thing. It's hurt." She muttered sympathetically. "That wound won't be healing anytime soon..."

She noticed the piece of cloth from the specimen's outfit hanging off the doorknob. She carefully untied it with such care as one would if they were handling a piece of expensive, exquisite silk. When it was untied, she stared at it with awe, then rubbed it against her cheek and smelt it.

Instinctively, with lightning fast reflexes, she closed the door till only a sliver was left (which was more than enough for her see through), and watched as one of the doors opened, releasing a very hungry looking group of exotic spiders making their way toward the stranger.

'Ah. They must have smelt his blood.' She mused to herself. 'Such a fascinating creature. It would be a pity to see it go to waste.' With that thought, she retreated further into the darkness of her prison, and slammed the door.

-

Leon woke with a start. He could have sworn he had heard a door slam… But that didn't matter now, for what he saw next nearly made him pass out.

Spiders.

Very, Very, Big Spiders.

About twenty of them.

He had heard that there were spiders so big they could eat snakes, but had never really believed it. Or cared to.

He did now.

He stood up and nearly keeled over from the dizziness and the sick feeling in his stomach. They almost had him surrounded, except for the little area right in front of him leading to a door. The "E" door, to be exact. He weighed his chances.

Face big, hairy snake- eating spiders, or hide behind door number two?

The answer was unanimous.

He staggered towards the door as fast as he could, praying it would be open… and it was. He internally leapt for joy at this while he went through the door, the spiders right on his heels… And slammed the door in victory, hoping that whatever was in here wasn't worse than the horrors out there…

* * *

A sad, sad attempt at a cliffie… Oh well. 

I actually cut this chapter very short; there were about four pages I had cut off and decided to make into another chapter. This one wasn't very exciting, but it will get better eventually.

Well, I kind of lied when I said you would meet Aeternitas in this chapter. She made a Cameo though (she was in the four pages I cut off)… She plays a bigger part in the next chapter though.

Anyways, Good Bye! PleasePleasePLEASE Review!

-Aliehs-


	3. Chapter Two: Found

Wuz Up, Peeps?

Yay! New Chapter!

Here's my thanks to the few who reviewed!

**Professor M. McGonagall**- Many thanks to you for reviewing. It pleases me to know that someone out there likes it, and it motivates me to write more. Thanks again:)

**darkangel68**- Thank you very much for reviewing my fic! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Once again, I would like to thank my Beta **I am Inu- Chan** for showering me with her endless wisdom. Thank yooooooooooooooooooooooooooou!

Check out her Inu Yasha fics!

Oh Yea, and since my little POV dividers aren't working because of my possessed computer, I will have to resort to using the ones that Fanfiction. net provides. Oh well…

Not much to say. Here's the second part to the previous chapter that I wrote!

Enjoy!

* * *

Flowers and Mr. Detective: Aeternitas

Chapter Two: Found

* * *

For about the first time, Count D was truly worried.

Really, truly worried.

He had not notice that Leon had gotten bit, for if he had, he would have tried harder to end the fight. Bites from mythical creatures tend to do more damage than normal. The carnivorous creatures in his shop, mythical or otherwise, were no exception, especially from Totetsus. With Leon lost, he could attract those creatures to him. Or even worse, _her_. Count D couldn't let that happen.

He had to find his Leon.

At all costs.

* * *

Leon could here the spiders hissing and shrieking in anger from behind the door, probably angry that they had missed such a juicy meal. 

He tried to peer into the darkness ahead of him, but was only able to deduct that the room seemed empty of even furniture, and the floor of this room was probably made out of cement.

As he sat down, he sighed and rubbed his eyes, which were beginning to hurt. 'Signs of a migraine.' He thought. 'Could this day get any worse?'

Just then he heard a young voice echoed around him.

"Good evening, sir. What brings you here?"

Leon's eyes snapped open.

He looked around wildly to see who had spoke, seeing nothing in the darkness until a dim light came on to his right. The only thing he could see from his position was an odd, deformed shape. He could feel the hairs rising up the back of his neck but ignored it as curiosity won over. Slowly, he stood up and as silently as he could, he crept over to the light.

As he got closer he realized that he deform shape was in fact, a sophisticated, antique sofa, probably circa 1800. And in it, sat a little girl, who appeared to be chained to the chair.

'What the?' Leon thought, surprised. 'A child?...'

Sticking to the shadows, Leon silently came closer to observe the girl more closely, and when he came close enough to look at her fully, the first thought that came to his mind was 'She's not human'.

The girl had incredibly long, white (except for the pink- tips) hair in two looped pigtails; the excess hair braided into many thin braids. She was wearing an exotic dress that was strapless (yet had sleeves) and revealed her shoulders, which had equally exotic tattoos. On closer look, she had extremely long fingernails which were painted a neon green, and an olive pale, almost translucent skin. But the most unnerving yet alluring thing about her was her eyes.

She had none. Just two blood red sockets that made her face seem much smaller that what it probably really was.

All thoughts Leon had melted away from his mind. The only thing he could do was stare, hypnotized, into the girl's eye sockets, which, in the middle, a strange, bright red light appeared and was growing larger and larger...

* * *

Aeternitas had had visions. 

She had sensed the creature come into her chamber, and had called out to him. Although she had no eyes, in her mind, she was able to see his body shape and body heat, almost as if she was wearing heat- seeking and night- vision goggles.

She had also sensed his presence coming closer, examining her with his eyes.

It was then she had her vision.

She had seen the destruction of her kind by humans, as seen through the eyes from an ancient ally. Only one of her species had been salvaged from this attack, with the help of said ally and others of his kind, but it was slowly dying. The ancient allies experimented and worked on restoring her species and had even come close to finding the cure. But as it would seem, the humans had deemed them too dangerous as well and condemned them to the same destruction as was seen with her kind. Only one had escaped, and with powerful magic, had sent her ancestor through time to the grandfather of her current captor.

He, after realizing what it was, took it upon himself to carry on the research of his ancestors, in which he then entrusted to his grandson. While he could not save her ancestor, he fused his blood with the last surviving root and had created her.

But as it would seem, her current captor also labeled her as dangerous (to his clients), and had locked her up here. She never knew why, and still doesn't know.

She looked into the human's eyes and was struck with another vision.

Of a young human child (with an uncanny resemblance to her human) and a Totetsu, playing peacefully together, and her human attacking the Totetsu.

She now looked at the human before her with hatred and disgust, and let her instincts take over.

* * *

Count D knew what he had to do. 

The good thing about the bite wound is that Testu could track it down, which he "kindly" asked him to do.

The bad thing is that it will not stop unless the Bitten seek proper medical attention.

So he decided to also enlist the help of his infamous incense. He closed his eyes, lit the incense, and after it burned for a short while, coaxed the smoke to him. He felt the smoke surround him, hearing his call in which he proceeded in communicating with the smoke through his mind.

'Please obey my request. Find the one named Leon, he with the wound from a Totetsu. Find him and return to me.'

The smoke, forming a hand, caressed him cheek gently, felling the pain and worry in his thoughts to them. Then, as if a vacuum was sucking it away, it went to through the door and out of sight. Testu followed in swift pursuit.

Count D sighed and sat down. He didn't know why he was doing all this. Then again, he did have a soft spot for the detective, whom had become something of a pet to Count D. His smile and his eyes held irony with those thoughts.

'Please be safe, my golden lion…'

Meanwhile, Chris watched these displays of emotions cross Count D face, and a determined look set into his eyes. He knew what he had to do. He was going to find Leon.

Glad that Count D was lost in his own thoughts, Chris slowly snuck past the Count and went through the door, following at a distance T- Chan and the mysterious smoke.

* * *

Leon snapped out of his reverie. 

When he looked back to the chair, there was a beautiful, red- eyedwoman sitting in a seductive pose.

"Who are you?" Leon finally asked, regaining his voice.

The mystery woman giggled, in a voice that sounded a vaguely childish (and somewhat familiar). Then she eyed him warily. "Come closer" she demanded in a sexy voice.

'That's strange' Leon thought. 'Wasn't there a girl there a moment ago?... A girl with no eyes. Wait, there was! How could I forget!' that thought whisked away as he suddenly looked into the young lady's blood red eyes. Mindlessly, he slowly sauntered closer to her.

"Yes… come to me… closer…" the woman purred. Only a little more and she'll have him in her grasp.

Leon was lost in her eyes. They called out to him, but in a strange way. He wanted to turn away, but his body refused to obey. It's as if they were keeping him there; keeping him there and looking into the very depths of his soul…

He reached her seat, and kneeled in front of her.

Aeternitas smiled. Victory.

She heard him ask again, "What are you doing here? This is no place for a beautiful woman like you, miss. What is your name?"

"My name is not important." Aeternitas began, "But if you must call me by something, call me Nita."

"Nita?"

"Yes, Nita. Short for Aeternitas."

"Aeternitas? What a strange name…"

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Your name. What is your name?"

"Leon."

"Hmm… equally strange."

'This is almost too easy', Aeternitas thought smugly to herself. 'He doesn't even notice the vines wrapping around his arms and legs, pinning him to the ground.'

She looked him over.

He was very tall, about 6'0, and muscular, with blonde hair and pale skin, but it was a sickly pale, probably because of the loss of blood. And beautiful baby blue eyes, that were somewhat glazed, slowly drawing her in…

"Let me take a look inside your soul… see what animal lies beneath…"

But Leon heard naught, for he had once again fallen into a daze, Nita's eyes glowing once more…

* * *

Chris took out his flashlight (the one Leon had given him when he had had night terrors), when it became so dark he could not even see the smoke anymore, let alone T- Chan. 

He had been walking for quite a while and was tired, but refused to stop until he found his brother.

'How big is this place?' Chris marveled to himself. It doesn't seem to have an end…

Just as he thought this, he was met with four forks in the road. The smoke was not deterred, however, for it just divided and continued on though all of the forks.

Chris was stumped.

'Oh great. What am I supposed to do now?'

Just then, something grabbed him from behind.

* * *

Leon felt as if he was in a dream. He was watching everything happen as if it were all in third person view, and had no control over his body. He watched as Nita leaned towards him, grabbing his head and caressing it as if it were the most precious thing in the world. 

Then she began to change, back into the little girl who was hiding behind the illusion.

'Holy Cow! That's not right!' Leon thought to himself. 'I should try to go back…'

And back into his body he went, since (lucky for him), Nita let her guard down.

When he awoke in his still unresponsive body (wait, did he ever leave?), he was met with the sight of the young girl leaning towards him, smelling his hair. Still in a daze, Leon tried to move with no avail, finding out that he was rooted to the spot by vines that seemed to be growing out of the cement.

His attention was brought back to Nita ('Is that even her name?' Leon pondered. 'She tricked me into believing she was a woman…'), who had begun to make strange hissing noises.

Or rather, her tongue was.

Nita's mouth was open and her tongue was moving/ growing out of it as if it had a mind of its own…

Leon watched with a morbid fascination as her abnormally long tongue split into four equal quarters from the tip, and continued to watch as what seemed like a shiny black thorn slowly push it's way out from the center of her split tongue.

"What the f-!"

Leon was interrupted from that exclamation when the thorn suddenly shot out and lodged itself in his throat. Right at contact, Leon's sight began to blur as his body began to convulse. He tried to yell out in pain but could not even do that, how much it hurt. It felt as if his body was burning, spreading from the prick. The world was spinning and slowly fading away, and once again, Leon found himself giving in to the darkness.

The last thing he heard was Aeternitas' cold, evil laugh, echoing in his mind…

* * *

How'd you all like it? 

I'll try to update as soon as I can, but remember: The more reviews I get, the faster I type!

Aliehs-


	4. Chapter Three: Transformations

Howdy!

It's me again with another chapter, but before we get to that, I'm going to give my thanks to the people who reviewed.

**Joseph Rosario**- I am very happy you have enjoyed it so far :bows: Thank you for reviewing!

**Karushna**- :evil laugh: Sorry! I couldn't help it! Don't worry though: You'll find out what happens to Leon soon enough. Thank you for your review!

**Wakaba- san**- :huff, huff: I typed as fast as I could! Here you go! Thanks:passes out:

**Alana-Star/SugarCat**- Thanks for reviewing all my chapters! I'm truly honored by your caring to do so (even though you didn't have to) :smiles: Thanks again!

**RavenShay**- Many thanks for your review! That review got me working on the story again! (I've been getting a crapload of homework lately…:depressed sigh:…)

I would also like to thank my utterly fantastic Beta **I Am Inu- Chan** for beta-ing my story.

Luv you, girl friend!

Check out her stories!

I would also like to apologize for not updating sooner… Sorry.

Now, without further adieu, here's the next chapter.

* * *

Flowers and Mr. Detective: Aeternitas 

Chapter Three: Transformation

* * *

Chris yelped in surprise as he spun around to meet his attacker. 

'T- T- Chan?' Chris thought weakly to his friend.

"Chris! Whaddaya doing here? Do you know how many things in here will be happy to have you for a snack?" Tetsu exclaimed in an angrily annoyed manner, bonking poor Chris on his head.

Chris' eyes began to water immediately, and Tetsu's eyes widened as he tried to correct his mistake, but it was no use, and Chris began to cry.

"I just wanted to find Leon" he wailed, "But I can't find him! I knew I should had tried harder to stop him, and I knew I should have made him get a band-aid for his arm but I was so scared and even Count D's worried and- and-" But Chris could go no further, as he began to completely bawl.

Tetsu had never felt so guilty in his life, for it was, after all, partially his fault that the big oaf had gone into the back of the shop. Mainly the oaf's, but still.

Tetsu kneeled down to Chris' level and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders, in attempt to comfort him.

"Hey Chris" Testu said softly. "Hey, don't worry kiddo, we'll find him, no matter how long it takes."

The tears stopped. "We will?"

"Of course we will. When have I ever failed you before?"

Chris hiccupped and gave T- Chan a feeble smile, and Testu heaved an internal sigh of relief, reassured that the boy was not going to cry again.

Standing up and looking around, Testu's eyes came upon the four forks in the hallway. Chris' eyes followed.

"How are we going to find the right hallway?" Chris thought to T- Chan.

Tetsu smiled cockily and replied, "You seem to be forgetting that I'm a Totetsu, my dear lad. No watch and marvel at my superior tracking skills."

Chris giggled weakly.

Tetsu comically dropped to the floor and in a crawling position, began to sniff the ground. He closed his eyes and began sorting through the scents.

Chris, meanwhile, watched on in wonder.

'Okay', Tetsu began his contemplation. 'There are three sets of scents here. One of them is the incense, the other, his own, and the last is definitely Leon's (who else can smell like a walking cigarette around here?) as well as his blood (Tetsu felt another pang of guilt).

Tetsu continued his contemplation. 'The incense went through all four forks. I had gone through the first one on the left because it had the freshest scent, but then I doubled back and hid when I became aware of Chris' presence.'

Tetsu sniffed around the other three forks, just in case, which all had very faint scents ('The imbecile went _everywhere and twice over_ how lost he was' Tetsu mused with a smirk) and concluded that he was correct in his first observation.

He stood up.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Whelp? I thought you were so eager to find that brother of yours!"

Chris smiled and saluted. "Where to, Captain?"

Before Tetsu had a chance to reply, an inhuman roar filled the air, stunning every creature in the compound into silence.

Chris was the first to recover, pulling on T- Chan's arm and yelling "Let's go! Leon's in trouble!"

Tetsu snapped out of it and leapt into action, throwing Chris onto his back (catching the child by surprise), and flew through the left corridor, praying that Leon was alright (for he wouldn't be able to stand the guilt if he wasn't), and hoping that they wouldn't run into the creature that made such a tortured sound.

* * *

Moments Before- 

Leon awoke to the pounding pain in his head, finding himself sprawled on the cold, hard cement floor. He attempted to sit up, but laid back down, as he could not fight the nausea. He turned to one side and violently threw up, and let out a feeble moan.

After several long minutes, he attempted to sit up and succeeded in fighting the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him once again.

At once he realized something was wrong.

He looked around noticing that the girl had disappeared, leaving behind no traces of her being here (even the couch was gone).

Suddenly, Leon felt very self- conscious, in the middle of a weak cone of light, surrounded by darkness.

'Who knows what might be out there?' he mused to himself, and shuddered as the memory of the Spiders came back to him.

Something still felt strange. He felt somehow… different.

Stronger. Deadlier.

'Whoa, where did those thoughts come from?' Leon mused to himself and ran a hand through his hair.

In an instant, he flinched and pulled his hand back to find that his nails were extremely long and sharp, as they were the ones that stabbed him in the head. His hair was longer and thicker as well, and had come out of his hair-tie. He continued to look up his arm and found that he was wearing strange bracers made of gold, as well as exotic gold bands on his biceps. It was then he realized in much surprise that his wound had partially healed, having already formed a strong scab.

'What?' Leon mused to himself 'That wound was bleeding like crazy just a moment ago…'

Touching his wound gingerly, he stretched his arm in a circular motion, and then froze as another question formed in his mind.

'How long was I here?'

He looked for his watch but could not find it, as it was replaced with the gold bracer, he suddenly came to realization at how cold he was. He rubbed his arms and looked down, find that he had no shirt on; only an exotic gold necklace dangling from his neck, which obviously covered very little. Continuing to look down at a reflected flash, he saw that he had gold anklets, and…

Leon began to turn a brilliant shade of crimson.

"What the hell!" Leon said aloud in surprise and violated anger.

A Loincloth?

His thoughts where interrupted when a voice in his head revealed its presence.

'You have awoken too soon', the voice echoed, one of which he recognized but couldn't remember.

The voice continued to inform him, 'You are much stronger that I anticipated. I underestimated you. No worries. It seems that you are just going to have to suffer through the rest of the transformation as you are now.'

Leon had no time to think over what the voice had said as he double over in pain; a pain so great that it knocked him off his feet and onto his knees. An all too familiar burning feeling came back in full force that made him cry out in pain.

"Wh-what's happening t-to me!" Leon managed to gasp out through gritted teeth, feeling his teeth grow painfully sharper.

His whole body was on fire, and he collapsed onto the cement.

As he writhed in pain on the ground, he felt his tailbone begin to elongate and the bones on his back tear up from underneath his skin, which was the worst pain of all. He let out an agonized scream as it continued to grow, which ended up sounding similar to a roar.

The transformation was complete.

* * *

Count D awoke with a start at the sound of a tormented roar that ripped into the night. 

It was unusual and rare for the Kami to be truly startled; only the most unusual and rare circumstances caused him to be so. This had to be an extreme case, as for it had woken him up.

Not that he had been sleeping well in the first place, worrying over the safety of his golden lion and the recently missing Chris. Although, D figured Chris was safe, for the animals have gotten used to the boy, so he would be in no immediate danger.

Not that that was an excuse not to worry.

D rested his head on his hands a found that he was sweating profusely.

He could almost feel the pain that was causing the animal; such a pain could not be ignored by him.

With that said, D grabbed a robe to put over his nightwear, grabbed one torches that conveniently lit his room, and set off into the back corridor.

(AN: "Torches? A little bit old fashioned, Count D." :silence: "But hey, that pretty cool anyways!" :hugs D:)

As he expertly walked in the direction of the angst-ridden cry, the kami sought answers in his thoughts.

He did not recognize the owner of the voice, yet for a moment, when he first heard the sound, he instantly thought of Leon…

But that was impossible. That creature was definitely inhuman.

Right?

D suddenly felt very worried indeed.

Just then, the Count felt another presence in the corridor.

He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to identify the mysterious being, and sensed that the incense had returned.

'Have you found him?' he asked.

Then, a smoky, soft voice echoed his mind.

'Yes. The Golden One has been found.'

* * *

Tetsu ran as fast as he could (which was at about half speed, for Chris began to slide of his back several times) toward the anguished cry. He still didn't know why, but from the look on Chris' face, something told him that the boy knew that Leon was in trouble; could feel it. 

Tetsu could smell Leon's scent getting stronger in the direction he was going, as well as something else.

Alas, he came upon a corridor that reeked of spider, which, upon entering, he saw an open door with blood on the floor.

Tetsu froze. He recognized the scent as being Leon's blood.

'Nononono…. He can't be dead! Please don't let him be dead!'

Chris must had felt his tension, and asked what was wrong.

There was a slight pause as Tetsu readjusted Chris on his back

"Don't worry about it, ok? Everything's fine…"

'I hope' he added in his mind.

Chris still was not reassured for he sensed the uneasiness in T- Chan's reply, but decided not to press the matter further.

He instead attempted to look around (only to have that attempt foiled), courtesy of Tetsu's wild fuchsia hair blocking his view.

Testu began to approach the door with caution; his nerves were on end the moment he saw the blood. Who knows: whatever did this still may be around…

He stepped into the room cautiously, only to be met with darkness, except for a dim light with something sprawled in the middle... Suddenly, the door shut and locked behind him.

'Shit' Tetsu cursed silently. 'That's not good…'

He sensed that Chris was uneasy and scared.

'Shitshitshit, I forgot, Chris is afraid of the dark…'

He swung Chris down from his back and set the boy in front of him, then bent down to his level.

"Chris, I want you to stay here, Ok? If something happens to you, yell for me."

Chris nodded.

'Wait, why can't I go with you?' Chris asked when T- Chan began to cautiously walk away.

"Because I can't fight with you clinging to me. And besides, if I get into trouble, then I need you to go get Count D for me."

'Oh.', Was all Chris could say.

Then he saw a figure lying under a dim light, a figure that, for a moment, looked exactly like-

"Leon!"

Chris began to run towards his brother, just when a large click sounded and several darts shot at the youngest Orcot. Chris froze at sound; his eyes going wide at the sight of all the flying flashes… Suddenly, he was pushed out of the way, hearing a pained grunt from T- Chan behind him.

Chris spun around "T- Chan?"

Tetsu had been knock over by the force of the darts, but stood up quickly at Chris' calling. 'I guess there were more than I thought…' he mused, surveying the damage. 'And tiny, too...' he grimaced as he pulled one out of his chest. 'One down, only about hundred more to go…'

"T- Chan?"

"Yes Chris?" he replied, turning to the little boy, expecting him to ask him if he was alright.

But that never came, as when he looked at Chris, the boy had an expression of open gaping, his finger pointing at something behind him, his eyes wide.

Tetsu spun around and realized that he was right beside the weak light, and whatever was underneath it. He gasped at the sight.

It was Leon… but it wasn't. He had changed significantly, looking overall, more powerful and… and sexier than before… Tetsu blushed furiously in confused thought.

'Whoa, what the hell! Where did that come from?'

Just then, he heard a whimper from behind.

'Oh, I forgot about Chris…'

He turned around and was stunned to see Chris, wide- eyed and frightened of what he saw.

"Chris, what's wrong?" he asked, and then it hit him: Chris couldn't see his brother's human form. He must be terrified.

Tetsu turned to the young boy and gave him a hug, once again in attempt to comfort him.

'It's okay, don't worry, he's not going to hurt you…'

Chris still wasn't reassured.

'What the heck is that thing doing here? Forget that, what the heck _is_ that thing?'

Chris had seen something like it before, when he went to the zoo once with his aunt... but never this close… and this one was different…

He buried his head into T-Chan's shoulder, and bit back a sob.

"Don't worry Chris, you'll be safe with me. I'll prote… protect yo…" Tetsu could say no more as he passed out because of the mysterious substance that was secreted onto the darts.

* * *

'Oh darn…' Aeternitas thought to herself from her hidden spot next to the light on the ceiling. 'I was hoping that my little trap would get the Count…'. 

Then she looked closely at the boy who set off the trap, remembering who he was.

The boy from her vision. Her pet- what was his name again? Oh yes… Leon-'s brother.

Her eye sockets lit up at the mere thought.

'He's so nice, I want him too. When he becomes my pet, we'll play with each other everyday and I'll keep him forever.'

Then a thought struck her. Maybe… maybe now, she can have a family. Yes, that sounded about right. With Leon and him, staying with her forever…

She liked the idea. Now, to make him hers.

She concentrated on the Totetsu, who just passed out from the venom she had put on the dart.

'Excellent. Now I won't have to worry about him.'

Just when she was about to approach the boy, an intruder entered their midst.

"The Count!" she hissed, and with lighting fast speed, she was gone in the shadows.

* * *

With almost unnatural speed and grace, Count D followed the smoke through the maze of doors and halls finally reaching one that filled him with dread, seeing the elaborate 'A' etched upon the door. 

He sensed her presence still within and entered swiftly through the door. He saw Chris hovering over Tetsu's unconscious form, his face pale and fear evident in his eyes. Behind him, the also unconscious form of a -------lay face down on the floor, which radiated mystical power. Count D frowned (for it was a creature he had not encountered before), and concentrated on it. Slowly, it transformed into Leon.

(AN: about the dashes: read note at the end of the story.)

The look in D's eyes was of shock and of sadness (for Leon's pain), but then they hardened with anger and fury as he searched for the Little Miss responsible for this.

He sensed her presence still inside of the room, heading for the door.

Turning around all he had time to see was the door swinging from the speed of which Aeternitas had left.

* * *

Well, I hope you all liked this chapter. Eight pages! Whew! 

If you were wondering about why therearedash marks where Leon's new form would be revealed: I wanted to save it for the next chapter.

Why?

Because I can.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

… Ahem…

Anyways,

Something has come to my attention: Word has been going around that many people have been getting busted for responding to reviews, so alas, this will be the last time I will be doing this.

I will recognize all of you though, because I believe you deserve that much…

And remember: I'm always open for suggestions, so if you have any, please, pray tell.

Gotta Go. See you next chapter.

Aliehs

PS- The rules about multiple grammar marks here suck.


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